IndyCar got underway, Formula One season got a little more interesting, MotoGP did what it always does and NASCAR did 500 laps at Martinsville. Here is a run down of what got me thinking.
One Vision
Mark Miles got blasted this weekend. Roger Penske blasted aero kits, the idea of racing outside the United States and doesn't want a new car until 2020. Chip Ganassi said the six-month offseason is killing IndyCar. The two most prominent team owners took shots at IndyCar brass and it's time everyone in IndyCar got on the same page.
Segmentation has been the way too long in IndyCar. The team owners are no longer in charge of IndyCar but that doesn't mean they should lay down to Miles. It seems the overwhelming majority of those within and around IndyCar hate the six-month offseason. There are plenty of tracks within the United States IndyCar should go to (Phoenix, Road America, Laguna Seca, Michigan, Richmond, Austin) but they aren't lining up to host an IndyCar race any time soon and Formula One is greedily abandoning Europe to chase the money from every authoritarian government imaginable and as much as IndyCar needs to expand their profile in the United States and North America, it wouldn't hurt to become more popular around the globe.
Mark Miles isn't entirely right and the team owners aren't entirely right (If Penske doesn't want to spend money then he mind as well get out of motorsports). There needs to be a compromise in this vision. If the team owners are struggling to get or maintain sponsor because of the six-month offseason, then it should probably be changed. If a respectable, international promoter is going to pay IndyCar $25 million a year to host a race and the likes of Phoenix aren't interested in hosting a race, you need to take the money, not wait for Phoenix to change their mind.
I find it ironic Ganassi is now complaining about the six-month offseason considering Randy Bernard, the man who expanded the schedule length by pushing Fontana to October, a race date the track wanted, was run out of town thanks to Ganassi and John Barnes. Not looking so smart now hey there Floyd? When Fontana moved to October it created a massive gap in September. IndyCar only need to add a race or two and then the problem would have been solved but I digress. We can't fix it now.
Everyone within IndyCar, from the drivers to the team owners to Mark Miles need to come up with a common vision for the series. Otherwise another executive will be fired and the series will be stuck in upheaval once again.
Ticket Price: Revisited
Back in October after seeing the massive crowd for the MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix I looked at ticket prices for that race and decided to compare them to the Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix. To no surprise, the Formula One prices are ungodly. For MotoGP, the most expensive ticket was $110. For Formula One, it was $2,108.84. To sit in the main grandstand for MotoGP it cost $49. For Formula One, the cheapest main grandstand ticket was $203.58. Hillside tickets for Formula One were responsible, $24.47 but the MotoGP hillside ticket was $12.
It is clear why Sepang was so empty on Sunday. But Bernie made money and signed a new three-year deal for Malaysia to stay on the calendar so what does he care about the exorbitant amount of empty seats?
Other Thoughts
Why not invert the grid of the second races for the Road to Indy doubleheaders? All three series had a driver sweep the doubleheaders. Maybe make it a little more interesting. With only 13 cars in Indy Lights and the cars being close in time, I would suggest inverting the entire field but for Pro Mazda and U.S. F2000, which feature slightly larger grids and "expert" class drivers, maybe invert only the top six or eight from race one. Maybe the second race could have a different points system. I suggest 9-6-4-3-2-1 with no bonus points for laps led or fastest lap.
Pirelli World Challenge has great racing but both races this weekend were behind the safety car for over half of the 50-minute duration. The first race had a massive accident on the start after a car stalled. Maybe using rolling starts for the street courses where there is less room to avoid a sitting duck. The second race had another big incident, which blocked the track but was clean up quickly. However, there was another car stopped further along on the course and officials decided to pick that car up and tow it back to the paddock. Why not just push the stranded car behind the barrier and pick it up after the race is over? It would have shortened the safety car period in race two immensely and allowed for more on-track action for the fans.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Juan Pablo Montoya but did you know....
Sebastian Vettel won at Malaysian Grand Prix in his second start with Ferrari.
Valentino Rossi won the MotoGP season opener from Qatar.
Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup race at Martinsville.
Craig Lowndes swept the V8 Supercar races from Symmons Plains on Saturday. His Red Bull Racing teammate Jamie Whincup won the race on Sunday and took the championship lead.
Ryan Eversley and Olivier Beretta split the PWC GT races from St. Petersburg. Dean Martin and Spencer Pumpelly split the GTS races.
Three Mazda Road to Indy doubleheaders at St. Petersburg and three sweeps. Ed Jones swept the Indy Lights races, Neil Alberico swept the Pro Mazda races and Jake Eidson swept the U.S. F2000 races.
Jonas Folger won the Moto2 race from Qatar. Alexis Masbou won in Moto3.
Ryan Dungey won the Supercross race from St. Louis.
Joey Logano won the NASCAR Truck race from Martinsville.
Coming Up This Weekend
Formula E heads to the Long Beach for their second race in the United States.
Super GT has their season opener from Okayama.
Blancpain Sprint Series heads to Nogaro for their annual Easter Monday race.
Covering All Motorsports. From Indianapolis to Le Mans, Daytona to Monaco.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Sunday, March 29, 2015
First Impressions: St. Petersburg 2015
1. This could be a long season. Juan Pablo Montoya won the race but Will Power dominated and Hélio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud finished fourth and fifth and they started 1-2-3-4. Montoya took advantage of a pit lane mistake by Power's crew and won the race. Power made a hard charge, even made contact with the Colombian late. I knew Penske was going to be quick and were going to be at the front. I didn't know they were going to unleash an ass-whooping.
2. Nice job by Tony Kanaan breaking up the Penske party with a third place finish but he was not a factor at all. He stayed at the front all day and it worked out in his favor.
3. Sébastien Bourdais finished sixth, his first career top ten at St. Petersburg. Like Kanaan, he wasn't a factor at all but was at the front all race.
4. Ryan Hunter-Reay was the top Honda in seventh. Every team will be going back to the drawing board to try and figure out how to beat Penske but Honda has to go back and try to figure out how to become a contender for a podium.
5. Great drive for Jack Hawksworth. Started 21st, had to change his front wing early, was on a completely different pit strategy, had to pit from 3rd, fell out of the top ten but charged to eighth in his debut with A.J. Foyt Racing. I expect big things from his this year.
6. Luca Filippi finished ninth after starting 19th. He brought the car home and that is the one thing Mike Conway struggled with in 2014. Conway might have won two races but his next best finish was 13th. Not a bad debut for Filippi at CFH.
7. Marco Andretti rounded out the top ten. He had a solid day. Damaged in front wing once but overcame the adversity.
8. Graham Rahal's orange livery is fantastic. That should be his full-time livery. Just replace the Mi-Jack stickers with Steak & Shake and Maxim when necessary. Rough break for Rahal on the penalty for contact with Charlie Kimball, who had a tire rub and was smoking heavily. He would have had a top ten if it wasn't for the penalty and could have been the top Honda.
9. Watching Scott Dixon get manually jacked on pit stops while everyone else was using the pneumatic jack is like seeing the one dog at a doggy day care wearing a sweater. You just feel bad for him and want to give him a hug.
10. Simona de Silvestro had a great qualifying session but rough race. I hope she gets a few more starts this season. Can't base everything off one race.
11. Dale Coyne Racing hired a crap driver and a driver who won a race with an illegal fuel cell and they finished 23rd and 24th respectively. You are right Dale, there is no way Justin Wilson, Conor Daly or Ryan Briscoe could have done better than that. Good choice.
12. IndyCar needs to adopt local yellows or code 60 because it shouldn't take five laps to pick up two or three pieces of debris that are next to barriers. You can't throw a full course caution for every bit on a debris. Major, big piece, of course but if you are going to throw it for every little piece of debris, you are going to have 66% of the race under caution and people aren't going to tune in to watch caution laps. IndyCar needs to work on this before the next race.
13. I am sure Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear love IndyCar but I don't think they are ABC's best options as color commentators. Allen Bestwick and Dario Franchitti would be a dream pairing. This year the Monaco and Germany Formula E races conflict with both Indianapolis races but I am sure they could work around those in the future. Gil de Ferran would be another guy to consider. He did a really good job a few years ago when he work with NBCSN on their Indianapolis 500 coverage. Alex Lloyd would also be another great option.
14. Jon Beekhuis was a great addition to the ABC team. He is probably the best pit lane reporter across both IndyCar television partners (No offense Kevin Lee and Robin Miller). He should be the go to guy come the month of May when the likes of SportsCenter and other ESPN/ABC shows want to talk about the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar.
15. I love St. Petersburg. I wish that Green Savoree Promotions could work on extending the straightaway to turn four to create another passing zone but other than that the track does produce some good racing, the crowd looked good, it looked like a beautiful day. I hope to get down there at some point in my life.
16. Not the greatest race ever but let's give aero kits some time. Hopefully the racing will become more competitive as the season goes on. Off next week due to Easter but then off to New Orleans for the inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana from NOLA Motorsports Park. Perhaps the racing will be a little better and there will be less cautions on a natural-terrain road course.
2. Nice job by Tony Kanaan breaking up the Penske party with a third place finish but he was not a factor at all. He stayed at the front all day and it worked out in his favor.
3. Sébastien Bourdais finished sixth, his first career top ten at St. Petersburg. Like Kanaan, he wasn't a factor at all but was at the front all race.
4. Ryan Hunter-Reay was the top Honda in seventh. Every team will be going back to the drawing board to try and figure out how to beat Penske but Honda has to go back and try to figure out how to become a contender for a podium.
5. Great drive for Jack Hawksworth. Started 21st, had to change his front wing early, was on a completely different pit strategy, had to pit from 3rd, fell out of the top ten but charged to eighth in his debut with A.J. Foyt Racing. I expect big things from his this year.
6. Luca Filippi finished ninth after starting 19th. He brought the car home and that is the one thing Mike Conway struggled with in 2014. Conway might have won two races but his next best finish was 13th. Not a bad debut for Filippi at CFH.
7. Marco Andretti rounded out the top ten. He had a solid day. Damaged in front wing once but overcame the adversity.
8. Graham Rahal's orange livery is fantastic. That should be his full-time livery. Just replace the Mi-Jack stickers with Steak & Shake and Maxim when necessary. Rough break for Rahal on the penalty for contact with Charlie Kimball, who had a tire rub and was smoking heavily. He would have had a top ten if it wasn't for the penalty and could have been the top Honda.
9. Watching Scott Dixon get manually jacked on pit stops while everyone else was using the pneumatic jack is like seeing the one dog at a doggy day care wearing a sweater. You just feel bad for him and want to give him a hug.
10. Simona de Silvestro had a great qualifying session but rough race. I hope she gets a few more starts this season. Can't base everything off one race.
11. Dale Coyne Racing hired a crap driver and a driver who won a race with an illegal fuel cell and they finished 23rd and 24th respectively. You are right Dale, there is no way Justin Wilson, Conor Daly or Ryan Briscoe could have done better than that. Good choice.
12. IndyCar needs to adopt local yellows or code 60 because it shouldn't take five laps to pick up two or three pieces of debris that are next to barriers. You can't throw a full course caution for every bit on a debris. Major, big piece, of course but if you are going to throw it for every little piece of debris, you are going to have 66% of the race under caution and people aren't going to tune in to watch caution laps. IndyCar needs to work on this before the next race.
13. I am sure Eddie Cheever and Scott Goodyear love IndyCar but I don't think they are ABC's best options as color commentators. Allen Bestwick and Dario Franchitti would be a dream pairing. This year the Monaco and Germany Formula E races conflict with both Indianapolis races but I am sure they could work around those in the future. Gil de Ferran would be another guy to consider. He did a really good job a few years ago when he work with NBCSN on their Indianapolis 500 coverage. Alex Lloyd would also be another great option.
14. Jon Beekhuis was a great addition to the ABC team. He is probably the best pit lane reporter across both IndyCar television partners (No offense Kevin Lee and Robin Miller). He should be the go to guy come the month of May when the likes of SportsCenter and other ESPN/ABC shows want to talk about the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar.
15. I love St. Petersburg. I wish that Green Savoree Promotions could work on extending the straightaway to turn four to create another passing zone but other than that the track does produce some good racing, the crowd looked good, it looked like a beautiful day. I hope to get down there at some point in my life.
16. Not the greatest race ever but let's give aero kits some time. Hopefully the racing will become more competitive as the season goes on. Off next week due to Easter but then off to New Orleans for the inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana from NOLA Motorsports Park. Perhaps the racing will be a little better and there will be less cautions on a natural-terrain road course.
Morning Warm-Up: St. Petersburg 2015
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| Will Power will lead the field to the green at St. Petersburg |
Power's pole position leads a Penske 1-2-3-4. Penske debutant Simon Pagenaud will start second after missing out on pole position by 0.0321 seconds. The Frenchman's best finish in three St. Petersburg appearances is fifth. Hélio Castroneves, all-time leader in St. Petersburg victories with three, starts third in the #3 Chevrolet. He has finished on the podium in three consecutive St. Petersburg races. Juan Pablo Montoya starts fourth. The four Penske drivers were the only four to run sub-61 second laps in the final round of qualifying. Penske has won six of the 11 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Takuma Sato was the top Honda and will start fifth and Sébastien Bourdais joins him on row three. Sato has three top tens in five St. Pete starts while Bourdais has never finished in the top ten at St. Pete in four starts. Tony Kanaan starts seventh. The Brazilian has five podiums, seven top tens and nine top tens in ten St. Pete starts. Ryan Hunter-Reay joins Kanaan on row four, who has a history of either finishing really well at St. Pete or finishing really poorly. Hunter-Reay has three podiums in seven starts but his next finish is 11th. Scott Dixon will roll off from ninth with Josef Newgarden in tenth. The furthest back a winner has come from at St. Pete is ninth. Dan Wheldon won from ninth in 2005 and Graham Rahal did it in 2008. However, outside of those two races, the other 9 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg have been won from inside the top five.
Simona de Silvestro starts 11th for her IndyCar return with her Andretti Autosport teammate Marco Andretti in 12th. Both de Silvestro and Andretti have two top tens at St. Petersburg, de Silvestro in four starts, Andretti in nine starts. Just missing out on round two of qualifying were Charlie Kimball and Carlos Muñoz and they will start on row seven. Former Grand Prix of St. Petersburg winners Graham Rahal and James Hinchcliffe will start on row eight while two IndyCar rookies, Stefano Coletti and Sage Karam, start on row nine. Luca Filippi and James Jakes rounds out the top twenty on the grid.
Jack Hawksworth starts 21st for his debut with A.J. Foyt Racing. Gabby Chaves, who replaced Hawksworth at Bryan Herta Autosport, joins the British driver on row 11. Dale Coyne Racing sweeps the final row of qualifying. Francesco Dracone was the slowest in round one overall but will start 23rd because he was the slowest driver in group one. The Italian's best lap was 64.2654, not within 105% of the best time from round one (63.876). Dracone has not been within 105% of the fastest time in any session this weekend. Carlos Huertas starts 24th after being the slowest driver in round one, group two.
The top 20 drivers from round one of qualifying were covered by one second with the top 23 drivers covered by 1.175 seconds.
The 2015 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg can be seen at 3:00 p.m. ET on ABC with green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled for 110 laps.
Friday, March 27, 2015
What Will It Take to Be 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Champion?
With the first practice session of 2015 in the books for the Verizon IndyCar Series, I decided to do some number crunching. We always hear people ask, "What will it take to be champion?" Well, I decided to try and answer that question using past IndyCar results and mathematics.
I went back through every IndyCar championship from 1979, the beginning of the CART-era to last year's championship won by Will Power. I calculated the average of percentage of maximum points, wins, percentages of wins, podiums, percentage of podiums, top fives, percentage of top fives, top tens and percentage of top tens for every champion. These champions are taken from CART/CCWS 1979-2007, USAC 1979-1981/82, IRL 1996-2007 and every champion in the post-reunification-era 2008-present.
Before diving into the numbers, let's look at what the 2015 season has to offer. There are 16 races on the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. For 14 of those 16 races, 54 are the maximum points a driver can score (50 for the win, a bonus point for pole, a bonus point for leading a lap and two bonus points for most laps led). That is 756 points offered from 14 races. At the Sonoma season finale, a driver could earn a maximum of 104 points (100 points for the win, point for pole, point for lap lead, two points for most laps led). That gets us to 860 points. Then there is the Indianapolis 500, where a driver could earn 145 points (100 for the win, 33 points for fastest on day one of qualifying, 9 points for winning pole, one point for lead a lap and two points for most laps led). The maximum amount of points a driver can score in 2015 is 1005.
What do the previous 35 years of IndyCar racing tell us? It tells us that the IndyCar champion averages 61.37% of maximum points. That means the 2015 champion would have to score 617 points. However, in the DW12-era (2012-present), the three champions have all failed to break 60% of maximum points. Ryan Hunter-Reay scored 57.849%, Scott Dixon scored 55.057% and Will Power scored 57.695%. Since reunification, the average percentage of maximum points is actually higher than the average from 1979 to present, at 62.706%. Comparing reunification to the era of IndyCar prior to the CART-IRL split (1982-1995), the average amount of maximum points for the champion was even lower than the last three years at 52.887%.
There is clearly a window the champion needs to fall in. Let's say the champion will need to score somewhere from 55% to 65% of maximum points, so the 2015 IndyCar champion will need to score anywhere from 553-653 points.
On to victories. The average percentage of victories for IndyCar champions from 1979-present is 30.515%. However, since 2008, that average is down to 24.344% with only Scott Dixon in 2008 being the only champion in that time frame to win over 30% of the races (35.294%). In fact in the DW12-era, Hunter-Reay is the only champion to have won more than a quarter of the races (26.666%. Dixon won 21.052% in 2013 and Power won 16.666% last year). The average amount of victories for IndyCar champions since 1979 is 4.3, which fits perfectly in the 25-30% window it appears the 2015 champion will need to fall in. The 2015 champion will need to win 4-5 races.
Like victories, the average percentage of podiums for IndyCar champions 1979-present is higher than the percentage since reunification at 54.845% to 49.394%. In fact, in the DW12-era, all three champions have failed to crack 50% podiums with Hunter-Reay leading the way at 40% to Dixon at 31.578% and Power at 38.888%. The average amount of podiums for champions 1979-present is 7.846. If the champion needs to finish on the podium in 40-55% of the races, the 2015 champion will need 6-9 podiums.
Top fives are closer to equal for champions from 1979-present and since reunification. The average over the whole time period is 66.368% and the average since 2008 is 65.072%. Once again though, the DW12-era champions are below average and fairly far below average. Only Dixon cracked over 50% in top fives (52.631%. Hunter-Reay was at 46.666% and Power at 44.444%). In the four previous seasons, the champion finished in the top five in over 75% of the races each year with Dixon actually finishing in the top five in 82.352% of the race in 2008. The average amount of top fives for every champion since 1979 is 9.557. If the 2015 champion needs to finish in the top five in 45%-66% of the races, there total will be from 7-11 top fives.
Top tens is the only category in which post-reunification-era averaged a higher percentage than the whole time period. Since 2008, the champion has averaged 80.03% total finishes in the top ten, compared to 78.377% since 1979. Will Power is the only champion in the DW12-era to be above average in percentage of top tens (83.333%. Hunter-Reay was at 66.666% and Dixon was at 63.157%). The average amount of top tens for every champion since 1979 is 11.269. There is much less margin of error in the case of top ten finish. The 2015 champion will need to finish in the top ten in 75-85% of the races, meaning they will need to score 12-14 top ten finishes.
In conclusion, if a driver wants to win the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series champion, they will need to win 4-5 races, score 6-9 podiums, 7-11 top fives, 12-14 top tens and score anywhere from 553-663 points.
When the season ends on August 30th, we will come back and look to see how well the past predicted the present.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Track Walk: St. Petersburg 2015
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| After Seven Months of Waiting, IndyCar Returns to Competition |
Time: Coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday March 29th. Green flag at 3:30 p.m. ET.
TV Channel: ABC.
Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever in the booth with Rick DeBruhl, Dr. Jerry Punch and Jon Beekhius working the pit lane.
Will Chevrolet Stay on Top?
Will Chevrolet Stay on Top?
Chevrolet has won all three manufactures' championships in the DW12-era and enters 2015 having won six consecutive races and eight consecutive pole positions.
At Barber preseason testing, the Chevrolet came out handily on top of Honda. Will Power was fastest over the two days at a 67.3118. Scott Dixon was second fastest within a tenth of Power. Rookie Stefano Coletti was third fastest driving for KV Racing Technology, 0.2106 seconds behind Power. Team Penske's Hélio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud rounded out the top five with the Brazilian 0.025 seconds ahead of the Frenchman. Sébastien Bourdais made it a Chevrolet sweep of the top six, 0.2711 seconds off Power.
Graham Rahal was the top Honda at the test in seventh, 0.3085 seconds behind Power. The Chevrolets of Charlie Kimball and Juan Pablo Montoya were eighth and ninth respectively as Takuma Sato rounded out the top ten, 0.352 seconds back.
Only four Chevrolets were outside the top ten. Josef Newgarden was 11th, Tony Kanaan was 13th, new CFH driver Luca Filippi was 19th and Sage Karam was 22nd. Karam only completed three laps over after an accident ended his test early on day one.
Ryan Hunter-Reay is responsible for the most recent Honda victory at Iowa last July. He was the top Andretti Autosport driver at the Barber test at 14th, 0.5376 seconds back of Power. The defending Indianapolis 500 winner was one of the three drivers to complete under 100 laps at the test. Hunter-Reay completed 87 laps, the second-fewest ahead of only Karam. Bourdais ran only 98 laps over the two days. Carlos Muñoz was 16th, 0.1046 seconds behind his teammate with Marco Andretti 21st over the two days, 0.4163 seconds back of Hunter-Reay and 0.9539 seconds back of Power.
Keeping in mind the art of sandbagging, the results of the Barber test could become completely worthless after the first practice session this weekend. However, the Barber test is the only indicator we have heading to St. Petersburg and it appears the Bowtie Brigade is set to extend their pole position winning streak to nine and race winning streak to seven.
Debutants and Returnees
Two drivers will make their IndyCar debut at St. Petersburg while five drivers will be making their first IndyCar start after an extended period away from the series.
The defending Indy Lights champion Gabby Chaves will make his IndyCar debut aged 21. In doing so, Chaves will become the sixth Colombian to make an IndyCar start. Chaves has made four starts at St. Petersburg in Road to Indy series. He finished third and fourth in the 2012 Pro Mazda opening weekend and in 2013, Chaves started fourth and lead nine of the first ten laps before contact with fellow Colombian Carlos Muñoz ended his race. Chaves started on pole for last year's Lights race and finished second to Zach Veach.
Stefano Coletti will become the second Monegasque driver to make an IndyCar start this weekend. The first was Louis Chiron in the 1929 Indianapolis 500. Chiron started 14th and finished seventh, completing all 200 laps. Coletti is 25-years old and has spent the last four seasons in GP2. He scored seven victories in GP2 and also won a race in the now-defunct GP2 Asia Series.
Luca Filippi returns to IndyCar as he will share the #20 Fuzzy Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet with Ed Carpenter, replacing Mike Conway, who has moved to Toyota's LMP1 program full-time in 2015. Filippi made four starts last year, all with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He competed in the doubleheaders at Houston and Toronto with his best finish being 15th in Houston 2. This will be Filippi's first start at St. Petersburg and should he take the green flag, Filippi will become the first Italian to start the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Sage Karam will make his second career IndyCar start. Last year, Karam finished ninth on debut in the Indianapolis 500 after starting 31st. Karam's best finish in four Road to Indy starts at St. Petersburg is third in Lights in 2013.
Two drivers return after last racing at Fontana 2013. Simona de Silvestro is signed to drive for Andretti Autosport this weekend. The Swiss driver spent 2014 pursuing her Formula One dream with Sauber F1. De Silvestro has made four starts at St. Petersburg and has finished fourth and sixth in her two starts in odd-numbered years. James Jakes makes his IndyCar return with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports after not competing in motorsports at all in 2014. His best St. Petersburg finish is 15th in three starts. He finished 15th in his two starts in odd-numbered years. Fun fact: James Jakes, Stefano Coletti and Josef Newgarden all competed against one another in the 2010 GP3 season.
Francesco Dracone is paying Dale Coyne to compete in the first four races of 2015. The Italian made two IndyCar starts in 2010 driving for Conquest Racing. He finished 22nd and 20th at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma respectively. Dracone has spent the last four years in Auto GP where his best finish is sixth in 42 starts. Dracone could join his fellow Italian Filippi as the first Italians to start the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Road to Indy
A total of 49 cars are entered across the three Road to Indy series this weekend.
St. Petersburg marks the beginning of a new era for Indy Lights as thirteen cars are entered for the debut of the IL-15 Dallara chassis and the debut of the Mazda badged AER engine.
Four drivers return who competed in Indy Lights in 2014. Jack Harvey finished with 547 points last year, equal to Gabby Chaves but lost the title on a tiebreaker. Both Harvey and Chaves finished tied with four victories but Chaves won the title with five second-place finishes to Harvey's one. The British driver Harvey returns to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and will drive the #42 Mazda. He has three new teammates this season, all Americans. Scott Anderson returns for a sophomore season in Indy Lights in the #77 Mazda. Anderson finished eighth in the championship and his best finish was fourth at Milwaukee. R.C. Enerson makes the leap to Lights after finishing runner-up in the 2014 U.S. F2000 championship to Florian Latorre. Enerson led the U.S. F2000 championship entering the final race but had an off track excursion cost him the title. The Florida-native Enerson won five races last year and will drive the #7 Mazda. Former GP3 driver and another Floridian Ethan Ringel rounds out the SPM line-up in the #71 Mazda. Rangel attempted to make his Lights debut at St. Petersburg in 2013 driving for Team Moore Racing but failed to take the green flag due to mechanical issues.
Matthew Brabham will run the #83 Andretti Autosport Mazda. The Floridian finished fourth in the 2014 Lights championship and won his first race on the IMS road course. Brabham also finished second in the Freedom 100 and Milwaukee. Brabham is currently only scheduled to run St. Petersburg. Shelby Blackstock has been promoted to Lights after two years in Pro Mazda. The Tennessean will drive the #51 Mazda.
The final returning driver is Juan Piedrahita as the Colombian replaces his follow countryman Gabby Chaves at Belardi Auto Racing. Piedrahita will drive the #5 Mazda and is winless in 66 starts across the three Road to Indy series. Puerto Rican Félix Serrallés will join Piedrahita at Belardi and will drive the #4 Mazda. Serrallés spent the last four years in Europe. He finished third in the 2012 British Formula Three championship behind Jack Harvey and Malaysian Jazeman Jaafar, who currently competes in Formula Renault 3.5. Serrallés raced in European Formula Three the last two years and his best finish was second on two occasions. He did make four starts in the 2010 U.S. F2000 championship.
New to the series is Carlin, the team that has won British Formula Three titles with the likes of Takuma Sato, Jaime Alguersuari, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Éric Vergne, Formula Renault 3.5 titles with Mikhail Aleshin and Robert Wickens and the most recent GP3 title with Alex Lynn. Other drivers who have raced for Carlin include Sebastian Vettel, Kevin Magnussen, Carlos Huertas, Robert Kubica, Will Power and Carlos Sainz, Jr. Emirati Ed Jones drove for Carlin in European Formula Three last year and will move to Lights with them. Jones will drive the #11 Mazda and he will be joined by Nissan LMP1 driver and former Marussia F1 driver Max Chilton, who will drive the #14 Mazda.
Three drivers move up from Pro Mazda. Juncos Racing moves entirely up from Pro Mazda and brings both their 2014 drivers with them. Defending Pro Mazda champion Spencer Pigot will drive the #12 Mazda with Kyle Kaiser in the #18 Mazda. Pigot won six races in 2014 while Kaiser took one victory and finished sixth in the championship. Runner-up to Pigot last year in Pro Mazda was Scott Hargrove and the Canadian will move to Lights to drive the #8 Mazda for 8 Star Motorsport. Hargrove won four races in 2014 and lost the title in the final race after suffering a mechanical failure while leading.
Indy Lights will run two races at St. Petersburg. Race one will be at 2:25 p.m. ET on Saturday and race two will be at 12:45 p.m. ET Sunday.
Eighteen cars are entered for the opening round of the Pro Mazda season. Neil Alberico finished third last year and returns to the #3 Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing entry. Canadian Danuel Burkett will be his teammate in the #2 and defending U.S. F2000 Florian Latorre will drive the #10 entry.
Juncos Racing won the title last year with Spencer Pigot and will field four drivers, three different from 2014. Canadian Garett Grist moves to the #5 entry from Andretti Autosport. Grist won two races last season. Frenchman Timothé Buret will drive the #6. Buret finished second in the 2014 Endurance Proto 2.0L series. José Gutierrez is the only hold over at Juncos as he will return to the #7. The Mexican won the final race of the 2014 season at Sonoma. Will Owen will be promoted from U.S. F2000 and will drive the #23. Owen won on the IMS road course last year.
Andretti Autosport has entered two cars. Malaysian Weiron Tan finished second at Winterfest and will drive the #22. Canadian Dalton Kellett will be in the #28 for Andretti Autosport. Team Pelfrey will have two new drivers. Former GP3 driver, Uruguayan Santiago Urrutia will be in the #81 and Pato O'Ward will drive the #82.
JDC Motorsports has four cars entered. British driver Raoul Owens will drive the #19, Nevadan Parker Nicklin will be in the #26, Michael Johnson returns in the #54 and Kyle Connery round out the JDC line-up in the #91.
World Speed Motorsports has entered two cars. Bobby Eberle is the lone Expert class entry and will drive the #13 entry. British driver Alessandro Latif returns to single-seaters after running in Blancpain Sprint Series in 2014 in the #14 World Speed Motorsports entry. Jay Horak rounds out the entry list in the #37 M1 Racing entry.
Race one for Pro Mazda will be at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday with race two at 9:50 a.m. ET on Sunday.
In U.S. F2000 18 cars are entered with 2015 Winterfest champion Nico Jamin leading the charge driving the #2 Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing entry. His teammate will be Aaron Telitz in the #3. Telitz won at Indianapolis Raceway Park last season and finished fourth in the championship. Winterfest runner-up Victor Franzoni will drive the #17 for Afterburner Autosport. Third-place from Winterfest and third from last year's championship was Jake Eidson and he will be driving the #22 for Pabst Racing Services. His teammate will be Chinese driver Yufeng Luo in the #23.
Team Pelfrey has four cars entered in U.S. F2000. Norwegian Ayla Agren will be in the #81 with Australian Luke Gabin in the #82. Pennsylvanian Garth Rickards and Russian Nikita Lastochkin round out the Pelfrey line-up in the #83 and #84 respectively.
John Cummiskey Racing has two Australians entered. Anthony Martin finished fourth at Winterfest and will drive the #33. Jordan Lloyd will drive the #94 Cummiskey entry. Lloyd hails from Toowoomba, the same hometown as Will Power.
Other notable U.S. F2000 entries are Max Hanratty, Andrew List, Augie Lerch, German Keyvan Andres Soori, Santiago Lozano and Canadians Parker Thompson and James Dayson.
U.S. F2000 will run two races at St. Petersburg. The first race is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. ET on Saturday and race two for 8:55 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Debutants and Returnees
Two drivers will make their IndyCar debut at St. Petersburg while five drivers will be making their first IndyCar start after an extended period away from the series.
The defending Indy Lights champion Gabby Chaves will make his IndyCar debut aged 21. In doing so, Chaves will become the sixth Colombian to make an IndyCar start. Chaves has made four starts at St. Petersburg in Road to Indy series. He finished third and fourth in the 2012 Pro Mazda opening weekend and in 2013, Chaves started fourth and lead nine of the first ten laps before contact with fellow Colombian Carlos Muñoz ended his race. Chaves started on pole for last year's Lights race and finished second to Zach Veach.
Stefano Coletti will become the second Monegasque driver to make an IndyCar start this weekend. The first was Louis Chiron in the 1929 Indianapolis 500. Chiron started 14th and finished seventh, completing all 200 laps. Coletti is 25-years old and has spent the last four seasons in GP2. He scored seven victories in GP2 and also won a race in the now-defunct GP2 Asia Series.
Luca Filippi returns to IndyCar as he will share the #20 Fuzzy Ultra Premium Vodka Chevrolet with Ed Carpenter, replacing Mike Conway, who has moved to Toyota's LMP1 program full-time in 2015. Filippi made four starts last year, all with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He competed in the doubleheaders at Houston and Toronto with his best finish being 15th in Houston 2. This will be Filippi's first start at St. Petersburg and should he take the green flag, Filippi will become the first Italian to start the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Sage Karam will make his second career IndyCar start. Last year, Karam finished ninth on debut in the Indianapolis 500 after starting 31st. Karam's best finish in four Road to Indy starts at St. Petersburg is third in Lights in 2013.
Two drivers return after last racing at Fontana 2013. Simona de Silvestro is signed to drive for Andretti Autosport this weekend. The Swiss driver spent 2014 pursuing her Formula One dream with Sauber F1. De Silvestro has made four starts at St. Petersburg and has finished fourth and sixth in her two starts in odd-numbered years. James Jakes makes his IndyCar return with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports after not competing in motorsports at all in 2014. His best St. Petersburg finish is 15th in three starts. He finished 15th in his two starts in odd-numbered years. Fun fact: James Jakes, Stefano Coletti and Josef Newgarden all competed against one another in the 2010 GP3 season.
Francesco Dracone is paying Dale Coyne to compete in the first four races of 2015. The Italian made two IndyCar starts in 2010 driving for Conquest Racing. He finished 22nd and 20th at Mid-Ohio and Sonoma respectively. Dracone has spent the last four years in Auto GP where his best finish is sixth in 42 starts. Dracone could join his fellow Italian Filippi as the first Italians to start the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Road to Indy
A total of 49 cars are entered across the three Road to Indy series this weekend.
St. Petersburg marks the beginning of a new era for Indy Lights as thirteen cars are entered for the debut of the IL-15 Dallara chassis and the debut of the Mazda badged AER engine.
Four drivers return who competed in Indy Lights in 2014. Jack Harvey finished with 547 points last year, equal to Gabby Chaves but lost the title on a tiebreaker. Both Harvey and Chaves finished tied with four victories but Chaves won the title with five second-place finishes to Harvey's one. The British driver Harvey returns to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and will drive the #42 Mazda. He has three new teammates this season, all Americans. Scott Anderson returns for a sophomore season in Indy Lights in the #77 Mazda. Anderson finished eighth in the championship and his best finish was fourth at Milwaukee. R.C. Enerson makes the leap to Lights after finishing runner-up in the 2014 U.S. F2000 championship to Florian Latorre. Enerson led the U.S. F2000 championship entering the final race but had an off track excursion cost him the title. The Florida-native Enerson won five races last year and will drive the #7 Mazda. Former GP3 driver and another Floridian Ethan Ringel rounds out the SPM line-up in the #71 Mazda. Rangel attempted to make his Lights debut at St. Petersburg in 2013 driving for Team Moore Racing but failed to take the green flag due to mechanical issues.
Matthew Brabham will run the #83 Andretti Autosport Mazda. The Floridian finished fourth in the 2014 Lights championship and won his first race on the IMS road course. Brabham also finished second in the Freedom 100 and Milwaukee. Brabham is currently only scheduled to run St. Petersburg. Shelby Blackstock has been promoted to Lights after two years in Pro Mazda. The Tennessean will drive the #51 Mazda.
The final returning driver is Juan Piedrahita as the Colombian replaces his follow countryman Gabby Chaves at Belardi Auto Racing. Piedrahita will drive the #5 Mazda and is winless in 66 starts across the three Road to Indy series. Puerto Rican Félix Serrallés will join Piedrahita at Belardi and will drive the #4 Mazda. Serrallés spent the last four years in Europe. He finished third in the 2012 British Formula Three championship behind Jack Harvey and Malaysian Jazeman Jaafar, who currently competes in Formula Renault 3.5. Serrallés raced in European Formula Three the last two years and his best finish was second on two occasions. He did make four starts in the 2010 U.S. F2000 championship.
New to the series is Carlin, the team that has won British Formula Three titles with the likes of Takuma Sato, Jaime Alguersuari, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Éric Vergne, Formula Renault 3.5 titles with Mikhail Aleshin and Robert Wickens and the most recent GP3 title with Alex Lynn. Other drivers who have raced for Carlin include Sebastian Vettel, Kevin Magnussen, Carlos Huertas, Robert Kubica, Will Power and Carlos Sainz, Jr. Emirati Ed Jones drove for Carlin in European Formula Three last year and will move to Lights with them. Jones will drive the #11 Mazda and he will be joined by Nissan LMP1 driver and former Marussia F1 driver Max Chilton, who will drive the #14 Mazda.
Three drivers move up from Pro Mazda. Juncos Racing moves entirely up from Pro Mazda and brings both their 2014 drivers with them. Defending Pro Mazda champion Spencer Pigot will drive the #12 Mazda with Kyle Kaiser in the #18 Mazda. Pigot won six races in 2014 while Kaiser took one victory and finished sixth in the championship. Runner-up to Pigot last year in Pro Mazda was Scott Hargrove and the Canadian will move to Lights to drive the #8 Mazda for 8 Star Motorsport. Hargrove won four races in 2014 and lost the title in the final race after suffering a mechanical failure while leading.
Indy Lights will run two races at St. Petersburg. Race one will be at 2:25 p.m. ET on Saturday and race two will be at 12:45 p.m. ET Sunday.
Eighteen cars are entered for the opening round of the Pro Mazda season. Neil Alberico finished third last year and returns to the #3 Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing entry. Canadian Danuel Burkett will be his teammate in the #2 and defending U.S. F2000 Florian Latorre will drive the #10 entry.
Juncos Racing won the title last year with Spencer Pigot and will field four drivers, three different from 2014. Canadian Garett Grist moves to the #5 entry from Andretti Autosport. Grist won two races last season. Frenchman Timothé Buret will drive the #6. Buret finished second in the 2014 Endurance Proto 2.0L series. José Gutierrez is the only hold over at Juncos as he will return to the #7. The Mexican won the final race of the 2014 season at Sonoma. Will Owen will be promoted from U.S. F2000 and will drive the #23. Owen won on the IMS road course last year.
Andretti Autosport has entered two cars. Malaysian Weiron Tan finished second at Winterfest and will drive the #22. Canadian Dalton Kellett will be in the #28 for Andretti Autosport. Team Pelfrey will have two new drivers. Former GP3 driver, Uruguayan Santiago Urrutia will be in the #81 and Pato O'Ward will drive the #82.
JDC Motorsports has four cars entered. British driver Raoul Owens will drive the #19, Nevadan Parker Nicklin will be in the #26, Michael Johnson returns in the #54 and Kyle Connery round out the JDC line-up in the #91.
World Speed Motorsports has entered two cars. Bobby Eberle is the lone Expert class entry and will drive the #13 entry. British driver Alessandro Latif returns to single-seaters after running in Blancpain Sprint Series in 2014 in the #14 World Speed Motorsports entry. Jay Horak rounds out the entry list in the #37 M1 Racing entry.
Race one for Pro Mazda will be at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday with race two at 9:50 a.m. ET on Sunday.
In U.S. F2000 18 cars are entered with 2015 Winterfest champion Nico Jamin leading the charge driving the #2 Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing entry. His teammate will be Aaron Telitz in the #3. Telitz won at Indianapolis Raceway Park last season and finished fourth in the championship. Winterfest runner-up Victor Franzoni will drive the #17 for Afterburner Autosport. Third-place from Winterfest and third from last year's championship was Jake Eidson and he will be driving the #22 for Pabst Racing Services. His teammate will be Chinese driver Yufeng Luo in the #23.
Team Pelfrey has four cars entered in U.S. F2000. Norwegian Ayla Agren will be in the #81 with Australian Luke Gabin in the #82. Pennsylvanian Garth Rickards and Russian Nikita Lastochkin round out the Pelfrey line-up in the #83 and #84 respectively.
John Cummiskey Racing has two Australians entered. Anthony Martin finished fourth at Winterfest and will drive the #33. Jordan Lloyd will drive the #94 Cummiskey entry. Lloyd hails from Toowoomba, the same hometown as Will Power.
Other notable U.S. F2000 entries are Max Hanratty, Andrew List, Augie Lerch, German Keyvan Andres Soori, Santiago Lozano and Canadians Parker Thompson and James Dayson.
U.S. F2000 will run two races at St. Petersburg. The first race is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. ET on Saturday and race two for 8:55 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Pirelli World Challenge
St. Petersburg marks the second round of the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge season. Thirty-four GT cars will be joined by nine GT Cup entries while GTS has 20 cars entered.
K-PAX Racing McLaren's Kevin Éstre enters as the GT championship leader after dominating race two from Austin in very wet conditions. Ryan Dalziel is second in the championship after a pair of second place finishes at Austin. The Scotsman trails Éstre by 6 points in the EFFORT Racing Porsche. Austin race one winner Olivier Beretta is 15 points behind Dalziel and returns in the R.Ferri Motorsport Ferrari. Lamborghini's Nicky Catsburg and Cadillac's Johnny O'Connell round out the top five in the championship.
EFFORT Racing's Michael Lewis had a great debut weekend at Austin and is the top amateur entry but will be lose the GT-A classification depending on his result at St. Petersburg. CRP Racing Audi's Mike Skeen and Nissan GT Academy's James Davison return after solid weekends at Austin. The Dyson Racing Bentleys of Chris Dyson and Butch Leitzinger look to rebound after failing to crack the top fifteen at Austin. Cadillac's Andy Pilgrim is also looking for his first top fifteen finish of the season.
Colin Thompson leads the GT Cup championship standings after sweeping Austin. Sloan Urry and Alec Udell are second and third after finishing second and third in each race. Phil Fogg, Jr. and Lorenzo Trefethem round out the top five in GT Cup.
GTS championship leader Kris Wilson won race one and each pole at Austin and returns in the #07 Aston Martin. Michael Cooper won race two at Austin and is second in the championship in the #10 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro. Cooper is seven points clear of Andrew Aquailante, who finished on the podium in each Austin race in the #32 Phoenix American Motorsports Ford Mustang. Kia's Ben Clucas is fourth in the championship and finished second in race two of his debut weekend. Dean Martin rounds out the top five in the #50 Rehagen Racing Ford.
Both classes will run doubleheaders this weekend. GTS is the first PWC race of the weekend on Friday at 10:15 a.m. ET. The second GTS race is Saturday at 5:45 p.m. ET.
GT/GTA/GT Cup race one will be 11:10 a.m. ET on Saturday with race two 10:45 a.m. ET Sunday.
Last year, rain forced the cancellation of the Saturday race. Sunday was nothing but sunny skies as Tomáš Enge won for Reiter Engineering Lamborghini in GT while Lawson Aschenbach won in GTS on his way to his second consecutive GTS title.
K-PAX Racing McLaren's Kevin Éstre enters as the GT championship leader after dominating race two from Austin in very wet conditions. Ryan Dalziel is second in the championship after a pair of second place finishes at Austin. The Scotsman trails Éstre by 6 points in the EFFORT Racing Porsche. Austin race one winner Olivier Beretta is 15 points behind Dalziel and returns in the R.Ferri Motorsport Ferrari. Lamborghini's Nicky Catsburg and Cadillac's Johnny O'Connell round out the top five in the championship.
EFFORT Racing's Michael Lewis had a great debut weekend at Austin and is the top amateur entry but will be lose the GT-A classification depending on his result at St. Petersburg. CRP Racing Audi's Mike Skeen and Nissan GT Academy's James Davison return after solid weekends at Austin. The Dyson Racing Bentleys of Chris Dyson and Butch Leitzinger look to rebound after failing to crack the top fifteen at Austin. Cadillac's Andy Pilgrim is also looking for his first top fifteen finish of the season.
Colin Thompson leads the GT Cup championship standings after sweeping Austin. Sloan Urry and Alec Udell are second and third after finishing second and third in each race. Phil Fogg, Jr. and Lorenzo Trefethem round out the top five in GT Cup.
GTS championship leader Kris Wilson won race one and each pole at Austin and returns in the #07 Aston Martin. Michael Cooper won race two at Austin and is second in the championship in the #10 Blackdog Speed Shop Chevrolet Camaro. Cooper is seven points clear of Andrew Aquailante, who finished on the podium in each Austin race in the #32 Phoenix American Motorsports Ford Mustang. Kia's Ben Clucas is fourth in the championship and finished second in race two of his debut weekend. Dean Martin rounds out the top five in the #50 Rehagen Racing Ford.
Both classes will run doubleheaders this weekend. GTS is the first PWC race of the weekend on Friday at 10:15 a.m. ET. The second GTS race is Saturday at 5:45 p.m. ET.
GT/GTA/GT Cup race one will be 11:10 a.m. ET on Saturday with race two 10:45 a.m. ET Sunday.
Last year, rain forced the cancellation of the Saturday race. Sunday was nothing but sunny skies as Tomáš Enge won for Reiter Engineering Lamborghini in GT while Lawson Aschenbach won in GTS on his way to his second consecutive GTS title.
Fast Facts
St. Pete track record is 1:00.928 set by Sébastien Bourdais in 2003.
This is the first race to occur on March 29th since the 2010 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which was won by Will Power. The race was postponed one day due to torrential rain. The only other race to occur on March 29th was Homestead 2008, the first race after reunification. Scott Dixon won that day on his way to his first Indianapolis 500 victory and second IndyCar championship that season.
Last year's Grand Prix of the St. Petersburg feature the fewest amount of caution laps in the history of the event. Ten of 110 laps were run behind the safety car.
Of the 19 drivers on the entry list to have previously raced at St. Petersburg, six have yet to score top ten finish at St. Petersburg: Sébastien Bourdais (best finish: 11th), Juan Pablo Montoya (15th), James Jakes (15th), Carlos Muñoz (17th), Carlos Huertas (18th) and Jack Hawksworth (21st).
Of the 19 drivers on the entry list to have previously raced at St. Petersburg, six have yet to score top ten finish at St. Petersburg: Sébastien Bourdais (best finish: 11th), Juan Pablo Montoya (15th), James Jakes (15th), Carlos Muñoz (17th), Carlos Huertas (18th) and Jack Hawksworth (21st).
Chevrolet is unbeaten at St. Petersburg since returning to IndyCar in 2012.
Every St. Pete winner has come from one of five positions.
Three times has the winner started 4th (Briscoe in 2009, Hinchcliffe in 2013 and Power in 2014).
The pole sitter has won twice (Castroneves in 2007 and Power in 2010).
Twice has the winner started 2nd (Paul Tracy in 2003, Dario Franchitti in 2011).
Twice has the winner started 5th (Castroneves 2006 and 2012)
The furthest back a winner has come from is 9th (Dan Wheldon in 2005 and Graham Rahal in 2008).
Three times has the winner started 4th (Briscoe in 2009, Hinchcliffe in 2013 and Power in 2014).
The pole sitter has won twice (Castroneves in 2007 and Power in 2010).
Twice has the winner started 2nd (Paul Tracy in 2003, Dario Franchitti in 2011).
Twice has the winner started 5th (Castroneves 2006 and 2012)
The furthest back a winner has come from is 9th (Dan Wheldon in 2005 and Graham Rahal in 2008).
An American driver has not won the season opener since Sam Hornish, Jr. won at Homestead in 2004.
This year's Grand Prix of St. Petersburg falls on Palm Sunday. This will be the 32nd race since 1946 to fall on Palm Sunday and fourth time the Palm Sunday race will take place at St. Petersburg. A.J. Foyt has the most Palm Sunday race victories with three. Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti, Sam Hornish, Jr., Paul Tracy, Hélio Castroneves and Mike Conway are the only other drivers with multiple Palm Sunday victories. Sébastien Bourdais, Will Power and James Hinchcliffe are the other active drivers to have won on Palm Sunday.
Five times has a driver scored their first career victory on Palm Sunday: Len Sutton 1958, Roberto Guerrero 1987, Jim Guthrie 1997, Mike Conway 2011 and James Hinchcliffe 2013.
Twice has a driver scored their final career victory on Palm Sunday: Mario Andretti 1993 and Jim Guthrie 1997.
Predictions
Josef Newgarden gets his maiden victory at St. Petersburg. Will Power will be the top Penske driver just ahead of Simon Pagenaud. Ryan Hunter-Reay will be the top Honda driver. Stefano Coletti will be the top rookie and scores a top ten on debut. A new track record will be set in qualifying. Sleeper: Jack Hawksworth.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Fool Around a Bit
During the winter, I took the time to organize into lists IndyCar wins by number. It was just a project I did in my free time because this is one of the little things that interest me. How many wins does A.J. Foyt have in a car #14? Has the #63 ever won a race? Unfortunately, I have never been able to find such a list. Using ChampCarStats.com, I went year-by-year and organized each win available for each number.
As noted on the ChampCarStats.com, some race information is missing and the car number is one of them so this isn't a comprehensive list with every single IndyCar race accounted for. This is a list of what we have and that is a fair amount. This list will be available in its own page that will be found at the top of the blog.
Before getting to the list, one other thing. Before each IndyCar race this season, I plan on making some type of IndyCar quiz. It might be about a specific driver or a specific race. Either way it will be about something about IndyCar.
For the first race of 2015, the quiz I made is Can You Name the Drivers Who Finished Runner-Up to A.J. Foyt? Once again, I used ChampCarStats as my source for the quiz. I hope you enjoy.
Posted below will be the IndyCar Wins by Numbers list. If you notice any discrepancies, let me know on Twitter. I plan on updating this list as the upcoming season progresses.
As noted on the ChampCarStats.com, some race information is missing and the car number is one of them so this isn't a comprehensive list with every single IndyCar race accounted for. This is a list of what we have and that is a fair amount. This list will be available in its own page that will be found at the top of the blog.
Before getting to the list, one other thing. Before each IndyCar race this season, I plan on making some type of IndyCar quiz. It might be about a specific driver or a specific race. Either way it will be about something about IndyCar.
For the first race of 2015, the quiz I made is Can You Name the Drivers Who Finished Runner-Up to A.J. Foyt? Once again, I used ChampCarStats as my source for the quiz. I hope you enjoy.
Posted below will be the IndyCar Wins by Numbers list. If you notice any discrepancies, let me know on Twitter. I plan on updating this list as the upcoming season progresses.
1
A.J. Foyt- 26
Sébastien Bourdais- 21
Mario Andretti- 20
Jimmy Bryan- 9
Rodger Ward- 7
Alex Zanardi- 7
Al Unser, Jr.- 6
Rick Mears- 6
Al Unser- 5
Rick Mays- 5
Ted Horn- 5
Michael Andretti- 5
Bobby Rahal- 4
Dario Resta- 4
Juan Pablo Montoya- 3
Joe Leonard- 3
Jimmy Murphy- 3
Cliff Durant- 3
Eddie Rickenbacker- 3
Ryan Hunter-Reay- 2
Paul Tracy- 2
Gil de Ferran- 2
Danny Sullivan- 2
Louis Disbrow- 2
Louis Meyer- 2
Peter DePaolo- 2
Louis Chevrolet- 2
Walter Campbell- 2
Eddie Hearne- 2
Tony Stewart- 2
Emerson Fittipaldi- 1
Bobby Unser- 1
Johnny Rutherford- 1
Wilbur Shaw- 1
Harris Hanshue- 1
Al Livingstone- 1
Don Herr- 1
Barney Oldfield- 1
Ralph DePalma- 1
Johnny Aitken- 1
Johnny Thomson- 1
Bobby Marshman- 1
Scott Sharp- 1
Jimmy Vasser- 1
Greg Ray- 1
Bruno Junqueira- 1
Johnnie Parsons- 1
Tommy Milton- 1
2
Al Unser- 14
Mario Andretti- 13
Sébastien Bourdais- 10
Johnny Rutherford- 9
Michael Andretti- 7
Tommy Milton- 6
A.J. Foyt- 5
Jimmy Bryan-4
Frank Lockhart- 4
Greg Ray- 4
Ralph Mulford- 3
Rodger Ward- 3
Jimmy Murphy- 3
Gil de Ferran- 2
Ralph DePalma- 2
Emerson Fittipaldi- 2
Tom Sneva- 2
Bobby Unser- 2
Ray Keech- 2
Shorty Cantlon- 2
Myron Fohr- 2
Walt Faulkner- 2
Jud Larson- 2
Al Unser, Jr.- 1
Juan Pablo Montoya- 1
Ryan Briscoe- 1
Oriol Servià- 1
Bruno Junqueira- 1
Jaques Lazier- 1
Tony Stewart- 1
Rick Mears- 1
Bobby Rahal- 1
Bill Vukovich, Jr.- 1
Babe Stapp- 1
Wilbur Shaw- 1
Earl Cooper- 1
Dario Resta- 1
Eddie Rickenbacker- 1
Len Zengel- 1
3
Hélio Castroneves- 28
Paul Tracy- 18
Bobby Rahal- 9
Al Unser, Jr.- 8
Mario Andretti- 8
Bobby Unser- 8
Harry Hartz- 6
Michael Andretti- 5
Johnny Rutherford- 4
Rodger Ward- 4
Peter DePaolo- 3
Al Unser- 2
Gordon Johncock- 2
Wilbur Shaw- 2
Sam Hanks- 2
Johnnie Parsons- 2
Pietro Bordino- 2
Ralph Mulford- 2
Eddie Hearne- 2
Bennett Hill- 2
Robbie Buhl- 1
Rick Mears- 2
Rich Vogler- 1
Roger McCluskey- 1
Jim McElreath- 1
Johnny Thomson- 1
Jim Hurtubise- 1
Mauri Rose- 1
Tommy Hinnershitz- 1
I.P. Fetterman- 1
Howdy Wilcox- 1
Earl Cooper- 1*
Johnny Aitken- 1*
Barney Oldfield- 1
John Jenkins- 1
Ralph DePalma- 1
*- Cooper and Aitken were co-drivers for Minneapolis 1915
4
Sam Hornish, Jr.- 11
Johnny Rutherford- 9
Ralph DePalma- 9
Alex Zanardi- 8
Juan Pablo Montoya- 7
Don Branson- 4
Rick Mears- 3
Emerson Fittipaldi- 3
Tom Sneva- 3
Scott Goodyear- 3
Danny Sullivan- 4
Walt Ader- 3
Billy Arnold- 3
Bruno Junqueira- 3
Eddie Pullen- 3
Roberto Guerrero- 2
Gordon Johncock- 2
Nelson Philippe- 1
Tomas Scheckter- 1
Ryan Hunter-Reay- 1
Richie Hearn- 1
Al Unser- 1
Mike Mosley- 1
Jim Rathmann- 1
Jack McGrath- 1
Bernd Rosemeyer- 1
Leon Duray- 1
Bob McDonogh- 1
Tommy Milton- 1
Gaston Chevrolet- 1
Dario Resta- 1
Eddie Rickenbacker- 1
Spencer Wishart- 1
Ray Harroun- 1
Jack Fleming- 1
George Robertson- 1
Bert Dingley- 1
Howard Covey- 1
5
Al Unser, Jr.- 6
Al Unser- 6
Nigel Mansell- 5
Emerson Fittipaldi- 5
Arie Luyendyk- 4
Mario Andretti- 4
A.J. Foyt- 4
Rodger Ward- 4
Earl Cooper- 4
Adrian Fernández- 3
Rick Mears- 3
Kelly Petillo- 3
Will Power- 2
Robby Gordon- 2
Bobby Rahal- 2
Bill Cummings- 2
Gil Andersen- 2
Charlie Merz- 2
Tom Sneva- 2
Gil de Ferran- 1
Danny Sullivan- 1
Pancho Carter- 1
Gary Bettenhausen- 1
Jud Larson- 1
Jack McGrath- 1
Tommy Hinnershitz- 1
Bumpy Bumpus- 1
Ted Horn- 1
Tommy Milton- 1
Harry Endicott- 1
Ralph DePalma- 1
6
Michael Andretti- 13
Cristiano da Matta- 10
Sam Hornish, Jr.- 8
Rick Mears- 7
Ryan Briscoe- 6
Bobby Unser- 6
Gil de Ferran- 4
Mario Andretti- 3
Bob Burman- 2
Eddie Hearne- 2
Joie Chitwood- 2
Bob Sweikert- 2
Bruno Junqueira- 2
Bert Dingley- 1
Eaton McMillan- 1
Roscoe Sarles- 1
Gil Andersen- 1
Harlan Fengler- 1
Bill Cummings- 1
Wilbur Shaw- 1
Jimmy Snyder- 1
Johnny Shackleford- 1
Johnnie Parsons- 1
Eddie Sachs- 1
A.J. Foyt- 1
7
A.J. Allmendinger- 5
Ralph Mulford- 4
Dave Lewis- 4
Johnny Thomson- 4
Louis Chevrolet- 3
Rick Mears- 3
Danny Sullivan- 3
Max Papis- 3
Tommy Milton- 2
Bill Cummings- 2
Johnnie Parsons- 2
Eddie Russo- 2
Eddie Sachs- 2
Don Branson- 2
Johnny Rutherford- 2
Gary Bettenhausen- 2
Tom Sneva- 2
Bryan Herta- 2
Frank Lescault- 1
Bert Dingley- 1
Billy Winn- 1
Tony Bettenhausen- 1
Walt Brown- 1
Bill Holland- 1
Bill Schindler- 1
Louis Unser- 1
Pat O’Connor- 1
Mario Andretti- 1
Al Unser- 1
Al Unser, Jr.- 1
Kevin Cogan- 1
Eliseo Salazar- 1
Patrick Carpentier- 1
Danica Patrick- 1
8
Earl Cooper- 13
Scott Sharp- 8
Rodger Ward- 5
Kenny Bräck- 4
Jimmy Murphy- 4
Gil de Ferran- 3
Bill Holland- 2
Pat Flaherty- 2
Roger McCluskey- 2
Tom Sneva- 2
Michael Andretti- 2
Bryan Herta- 2
Louis Meyer- 2
Will Power- 1
Alex Tagliani- 1
Jimmy Vasser- 1
Teo Fabi- 1
Rick Mears- 1
Bobby Unser- 1
Jud Larson- 1
Henry Banks- 1
Emil Andres- 1
Tazio Nuvolari- 1
Cliff Woodbury- 1
Babe Stapp- 1
Fred Comer- 1
Tommy Milton- 1
Roscoe Sarles- 1
Pete Henderson- 1
Joe Dawson- 1
Ralph Mulford- 1
Erwin Bergdoll- 1
Harry Grant- 1
9
Scott Dixon- 34
Jimmy Bryan- 5
Ralph Mulford- 4
Danny Sullivan- 4
Justin Wilson- 4
Tommy Milton- 3
Rick Mears- 3
Al Rogers- 3
Frank Elliott- 3
Arie Luyendyk- 2
Michel Jourdain, Jr.- 2
Dario Resta- 2
Jeff Ward- 1
Juan Pablo Montoya- 1
Gary Bettenhausen- 1
Tom Sneva- 1
A.J. Foyt- 1
Len Sutton- 1
Jud Larson- 1
Sam Hanks- 1
Eddie Pullen- 1
Bob Burman- 1
Eddie Hearne- 1
Charles Bigelow- 1
Johnny Aitken- 1
Howdy Wilcox- 1
William Sharp- 1
Charlie Arnold- 1
10
Dario Franchitti- 12
Dan Wheldon- 6
Ralph DePalma- 4
Billy Winn- 2
Roscoe Sarles- 2
Johnny Aitken- 2
Tony Kanaan- 1
John Paul, Jr.- 1
Bill Cummings- 1
Tommy Milton- 1
Jimmy Murphy- 1
Eddie Rickenbacker- 1
Tom Kincaid- 1
Herbert Lytle- 1
Louis Chevrolet- 1
11
Tony Kanaan- 15
Bobby Unser- 4
Christian Fittipaldi- 2
Joe Thomas- 2
Sébastien Bourdais- 1
Billy Boat- 1
Mario Andretti- 1
Gary Bettenhausen- 1
Johnny Aitken- 1
Eddie Rickenbacker- 1
Glover Ruckstell- 1
Harvey Herrick- 1
Hughie Hughes- 1
Louis Chevrolet- 1
12
Will Power- 19
Jimmy Vasser- 8
Bobby Unser- 6
Paul Tracy- 5
Peter DePaolo- 5
Johnnie Parsons- 5
Bobby Rahal- 4
Jimmy Murphy- 3
Leon Duray- 3
Gordon Johncock- 2
Eddie Sachs- 2
Mike Mosley- 2
Mario Andretti- 2
Kenny Bräck- 1
Buzz Calkins- 1
John Paul, Jr.- 1
Lloyd Ruby- 1
Pat O’Connor- 1
Lee Wallard- 1
Billy Winn- 1
Harlan Fengler- 1
Harry Hartz- 1
Tom Alley- 1
Ralph DePalma- 1
Eddie Pullen- 1
George Robertson- 1
13
14
A.J. Foyt- 30
Kenny Bräck- 4
Robert Doornbos- 2
Bill Vukovich- 2
Lou Moore- 2
Takuma Sato- 1
Airton Daré- 1
Roger McCluskey- 1
Jim McElreath- 1
Bobby Grim- 1
Jimmy Davies- 1
Al Rogers- 1
Lou Meyer- 1
Norman Batten- 1
Bob McDonogh- 1
Ira Vail- 1
15
Al Unser- 4
Buddy Rice- 2
Joe Leonard- 2
Ray Keech- 2
Scott Goodyear- 1
Bobby Ball- 1
Mel Hansen- 1
Stubby Stubblefield- 1
Frank Lockhart- 1
Phil Shafer- 1
L.L. Corum- 1*
Joe Boyer- 1*
Eddie O’Donnell- 1
Hughie Hughes- 1
Tom Kincaid- 1*
Johnny Aitken- 1*
Arthur See- 1
*- Corum and Boyer were co-drivers for the 1924 Indianapolis
500.
*- Kincaid and Aitken were co-drivers for Atlanta Race 4
1910
16
Bennett Hill- 3
Tony Bettenhausen- 3
Mauri Rose- 2
Chuck Stevenson- 2
Bobby Olivero- 1
Gary Bettenhausen- 1
Jim Rathmann- 1
Jimmy Bryan- 1
George Robson- 1
Shorty Cantlon- 1
Jules Goux- 1
René Thomas- 1
Floyd Roberts- 1
George Joerimann- 1
Louis Disbrow- 1
17
Ryan Hunter-Reay- 1
Maurício Gugelmin- 1
Bob Sweikert- 1
Wilbert- 1
Floyd Davis- 1*
Mauri Rose- 1*
Earl Devore- 1
Taylor- 1
Dario Resta- 1
Dario Resta- 1
*- Davis and Rose were co-drivers for the 1941 Indianapolis
500.
18
Michael Andretti- 7
Mark Blundell- 3
Bobby Rahal- 2
Justin Wilson- 2
Mike Conway- 1
Scott Dixon- 1
Danny Sullivan- 1
Harry Grant- 1
19
Eddie O’Donnell- 2
Bobby Rahal- 2
Carlos Huertas- 1
Joe Matson- 1
20
Gordon Johncock- 18
Emerson Fittipaldi- 10
Ed Carpenter- 2
Mike Conway- 2
Roberto Moreno- 2
Scott Pruett- 2
Earl Cooper- 1
21
Al Unser- 4
Johnny Rutherford- 2
Cristiano da Matta- 1
Alex Barron- 1
Felipe Giaffone- 1
Elmer George- 1
Louis Meyer- 1
Dario Resta- 1
Ralph DePalma- 1
22
Wes Vandervoort- 1
Bud Tingelstad- 1
Jimmy Davies- 1
Shorty Cantlon- 1
Ralph DePalma- 1
Bruce Keen- 1
23
Floyd Roberts- 1
Louis Schneider- 1
24
Robby Buhl- 1
Graham Hill- 1
Rodger Ward- 1
Ted Horn- 1
Charlie Merz- 1
25
Danny Ongais- 6
Lloyd Ruby- 4
Al Unser- 1
Louis Unser- 1
Cliff Woodbury- 1
Earl Cooper- 1
Armour Ferguson- 1
26
Dan Wheldon- 9
Paul Tracy- 6
Marco Andretti- 1
Jim Rathmann- 1
Howdy Wilcox- 1*
Johnny Aitken- 1*
Dave Buck- 1
*- Wilcox and Aitken were co-drivers for Santa Monica 2
1916.
27
Dario Franchitti- 18
Jacques Villeneuve (II)- 5
Frank Lockhart- 4
James Hinchcliffe- 3
Mike Conway- 1
Jim Guthrie- 1
Keith Andrews- 1
Mauri Rose- 1
Frank Elliott- 1
28
Ryan Hunter-Reay- 8
Mark Dismore- 1
Joe Nikrent- 1
29
Joe Leonard- 1
30
Danny Sullivan- 3
Al Unser, Jr.- 3
Arie Luyendyk- 1
31
Al Unser, Jr.- 9
André Ribeiro- 3
Ryan Hunter-Reay- 1
Joe Dawson- 1
Louis Chevrolet- 1
32
Patrick Carpentier- 4
Ray Harroun- 3
Myron Fohr- 2*
Tony Bettenhausen- 1*
Adrian Fernández- 1
Héctor Rebaque- 1
Mauri Rose- 1
George Souder- 1
Hughie Hughes- 1
Teddy Tetzlaff- 1
*- Fohr and Bettenhausen were co-drivers for Milwaukee 3
1948
33
Teo Fabi- 4
Rex Mays- 3
Jimmy Gleason- 1
George Hill- 1
Teddy Tetzlaff- 1
Lewis Strang- 1
34
Tony Bettenhausen- 1
Fred Frame- 1
35
Jimmy Murphy- 3
Bob Burman- 1
36
Louis Meyer- 2
Hughie Hughes- 1
37
Ryan Hunter-Reay- 1
38
Tom Cherry- 2
George Connor- 1
39
Michael Andertti- 2
Joe Boyer- 1
40
Adrian Fernández- 6
Wally Dallenbach- 5
Emerson Fittipaldi- 1
Scott Goodyear- 1
41
Gaston Chevrolet- 3*
Joe Boyer- 1*
George Snider- 1
Harry Endicott- 1
*- Chevrolet and Boyer were co-drivers for Uniontown 7 1919
42
Swede Savage- 1
Jim Packard- 1
Willie Knipper- 1
43
Bob Burman- 1
44
Manny Ayulo- 2
Eddie Sachs- 2
Alex Barron- 1
Tony Kanaan- 1
Roger McCluskey- 1
Jim Hurtubise- 1
Tony Bettenhausen- 1
Johnny Thomson- 1
Charlie Van Acker- 1
45
Eddie Hearne- 3
Ronnie Bucknum- 1
Wilbur Shaw- 1
Teddy Tetzlaff- 1
46
Eddie Sachs- 1
Frank Gelnaw- 1
47
Tom Alley- 1
48
Dan Gurney- 7
Bobby Unser- 5
Mike Mosley- 1
David Bruce-Brown- 1
49
Jack McGrath- 2
50
Dario Franchitti- 1
51
Eddie Cheever- 5
Adrian Fernández- 1
Bob Sweikert- 1
Kelly Petillo- 1
Bill Endicott- 1
52
Jim McElreath- 3
Tomas Scheckter- 1
Lloyd Ruby- 1
Leigh Lynch- 1
53
54
Louis Chevrolet- 1
55
Mario Domínguez- 2
Larry Rice- 1
Mel Hansen- 1
56
Jim Hurtubise- 2
Van Johnson- 1
57
Art Pollard- 2*
George Weld- 1*
Jimmy Davies- 1
*- Pollard and Weld were co-drivers for Milwaukee 1 1969.
58
Keith Kauffman- 1
Bob Finney- 1
59
60
61
Bob Carey- 2
62
George Follmer- 1
63
George Hammond- 1
64
65
66
Mark Donohue- 3
67
Ed Carpenter- 1
68
Hélio Castroneves- 1
Tom Sneva- 1
69
Duke Dinsmore- 1
70
71
72
73
Mike Nazaruk- 1
74
75
Lloyd Ruby- 1
Tex Keene- 1
76
Jacques Villeneueve (I)- 1
Gordon Johncock- 1
77
Simon Pagenaud- 4
78
George Amick- 2
79
80
81
Len Sutton- 2
Tony Bettenhausen- 1
Art Bisch- 1
George Amick- 1
82
Jim Clark- 1
83
Charlie Kimball- 1
84
85
86
87
Buck Baker- 1
88
Al Keller- 1
89
Pat Flaherty- 1
90
91
Buddy Lazier- 8
92
Rodger Ward- 2
Bobby Unser- 2
Jim Clark 1
93
94
95
Peter Revson- 1
96
Al Unser- 1
97
Cristiano da Matta- 1
98
Parnelli Jones- 6
Chuck Stevenson- 2
Bill Vukovich- 2
Troy Ruttman- 2
Dan Wheldon- 1
Mike Mosley- 1
Dick Atkins- 1
Walt Faulkner- 1
Fred Agabashian- 1
Johnny Mantz- 1
99
Tony Bettenhausen- 14
Greg Moore- 5
Sam Schmidt- 1
Sam Hanks- 1
Lee Wallard- 1
02
Justin Wilson- 1
06
Graham Rahal- 1
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